Multiple telephone jack slide assembly

ABSTRACT

A multiple telephone jack slide assembly includes a jack support member for supporting a multitude of telephone jacks upon an electronic wire connecting system. The jack support member has a longitudinal channel formed by a slotted opening for slidingly receiving telephone jacks, the side walls of the telephone jacks engaging edge portions of the slotted opening. One or more retaining members are secured to the jack support member to inhibit further sliding movement of the telephone jacks after the same are inserted in the channel through an opening communicating therewith.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 06/839,740, filed on Mar. 14, 1986, now U.S. Pat.No. 4,658,418 and entitled "MULTIPLE TELEPHONE JACK SLIDE ASSEMBLY".

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to telephone wiring interchangeequipment, and more particularly, to apparatus adapted to slidinglyreceive and support a plurality of telephone jacks upon a telephonewiring interchange panel.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Within businesses, offices, apartment complexes and other locationswhere a number of telephone lines are clustered together telephoneservice is typically provided via a central telephone interchange wiringpanel installed at the site of the business, office, apartment complex,etc.. Often, an underground trunk cable is routed to the wiring panel,and the interconnection between the trunk cable and the individualtelephone lines is made upon the wiring panel. Individual telephone linewires are routed from the wiring panel to each telephone in use at thesite.

Presently, wiring interconnections are typically made upon the telephoneinterchange wiring panel through the use of so-called punch down blocks,also known as terminal boards. These devices, supplied by AmericanTelephone & Telegraph Company and others, provide multiple rows of wiregripping terminals housed in a plastic base unit, the wire grippingterminals being adapted to releasably grasp and retain the stripped endsof telephone wires. Depending upon the specific model of the terminalboard in use, all of the terminals within any given row may be shortedtogether by a common bus bar. Such terminal boards are either fasteneddirectly to a back panel or are releasably supported by plastic mountingbrackets secured to such a back panel.

Usually, four separate color-coded wires are routed to the terminalboard from the main trunk line for each telephone line to be served atthe site. The four separate wires are typically connected to foursuccessive rows of terminals upon the terminal board. Another set offour color-coded wires is connected to the aforementioned foursuccessive rows of terminals, and this second set of four wires isrouted to a telephone at the site. Whenever new service is to beestablished for a new telephone line, old service is to be disconnectedfor an existing telephone line, or a user assigned to a particulartelephone line wants to relocate the telephone line to a differentoffice or location at the site, a telephone service man must go to thewiring panel, locate the four rows of terminals assigned to thepertinent telephone line, and either connect, disconnect or move thefour wires upon the terminal board corresponding to the effectedtelephone line.

In order to minimize the time required by the serviceman to make suchwiring changes at the wiring panel, it has been proposed to provide atelephone jack and mating telephone plug for each telephone lineserviced by the wiring panel. The advantage in implementing such asystem is that telephone service can then be established or disconnectedsimply by inserting or removing the telephone plug from the relatedtelephone jack. Similarly, service for a particular telephone line canbe shifted to a different office or apartment simply by shifting a plugon the wiring panel from one telephone jack to another.

However, prior to the development of the present invention, there hasbeen no convenient apparatus for supporting a large number of telephonejacks upon a telephone interchange wiring panel or other wire connectingsystem in a compact and inexpensive manner. Many thousands of suchtelephone interchange wiring panels already exist in the field, and anysuch apparatus for supporting a multitude of telephone jacks mustnecessarily be compatible and retrofit to existing wiring panels.Because such wiring panels are employed in great numbers, any suchapparatus for supporting a multitude of telephone jacks should beinexpensive to manufacture and assemble in order to be practical from acommercial standpoint. In addition, because terminal boards vary in thenumber of telephone lines which can be handled by each such board, andbecause the number of telephone lines to be served varies from site tosite, any such apparatus for supporting a multitude of telephone jacksupon a wiring panel should ideally be readily reconfigurable to providea variety of differently numbered and variously spaced telephone jacks.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide anapparatus for supporting a multitude of telephone jacks to beelectrically interconnected with a wiring system which apparatus iscompact and adapted to be mounted to and used in conjunction with avariety of wiring systems.

It is another object of the present invention to provide such anapparatus which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such anapparatus which does not require any modification of conventionaltelephone jacks already commercially available.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such anapparatus in which it is a simple matter to vary the number of telephonejacks supported by such an apparatus.

It is another object of the present invention to provide such anapparatus which is easily modified to accommodate various differentstyles of telephone jacks.

These and other objects of the present invention will become moreapparent to those skilled in the art as the description thereofproceeds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly described, and in accordance with one embodiment thereof, thepresent invention provides a multiple telephone jack slide assembly forsupporting a multitude of telephone jacks upon an electrical wiringsystem, the assembly including a support member having a channel formedtherein, the channel being bounded by first and second opposing edgeportions of the support member. The first and second edge portions areseparated by a predetermined distance corresponding to the width of thechannel. An opening communicates with the channel for permittingtelephone jacks to be inserted into the channel. Fastening means areprovided for fastening the support member to a conventional telephoneinterchange wiring panel, wire connecting block, wiring cabinet frame,or other wiring system components. The assembly further includes aplurality of telephone jacks of the type designed to releasably receivea mating telephone cord plug. Such telephone jacks have a widthapproximating the width of the channel in the support member. The sidewalls of the telephone jacks slidingly engage the opposing edge portionsof the channel formed in the support member for permitting each of thetelephone jacks to be slid into the channel from the openingcommunicating therewith. After the appropriate number of telephone jacksare inserted within the channel, a retaining member is releasablyfastened to the support member and abuts at least one of the telephonejacks for preventing any further sliding movement of the telephone jacksslidingly received within the channel.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the support member includesa generally planar elongated surface having a slotted opening formedtherein in order to provide a longitudinal channel. Each of thetelephone jacks has grooves formed in the side walls thereof whichgrooves are of a width commensurate with the thickeness of the generallyplanar elongated surface of the support member. The width of thetelephone jacks slightly exceeds the width of the channel formed in thesupport member. The grooves formed in the side walls of the telephonejack are designed to slidingly receive the opposing edge portions of thesupport member bounding the slotted opening for allowing each of thetelephone jacks to be slid into the channel and supported by the supportmember.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the plurality oftelephone jacks each have opposing side walls wherein each side wall hasfirst and second projections extending therefrom and spaced apart fromeach other by a predetermined gap. The first and second edge portions ofthe support member have a face width commensurate with the predeterminedgap and slidingly engage the first and second projections extending fromeach side wall.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the plurality oftelephone jacks each have a first side wall with a first engagement pathand a second side wall with a second engagement path, wherein the firstand second engagement paths are offset from one another relative to theupper surface of the telephone jack. The first and second opposing edgeportions of the support member are laterally offset from one another bya like amount for permitting the first and second opposing edge portionsto slidingly engage the first and second engagement paths.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the slide assemblyincludes an enclosure member releasably fastened to the support memberfor enclosing the connecting wires extending from the plurality oftelephone jacks. The enclosure member preferably includes at least onepanel extending generally perpendicular to the planar elongated surfaceof the support member in wihch the channel is formed, proximate to theopening of the channel,for preventing telephone jacks within the channelfrom sliding into the opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a multiple telephone jack slide assemblyconstructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present inventionand adapted to be supported by a terminal board mounting bracket alsoillustrated within FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a telephone interchange wiring panel includingboth conventional punch down terminal boards and the novel multipletelephone jack slide assembly corresponding lg 1 to the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the portion of FIG. 2 encircled by dashedoval 3.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the multiple telephone jackslide assembly shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are cross-sectional views of the multiple telephonejack slide assembly taken through the lines designated 5--5, 6--6, 7--7,and 8--8, respectively, as shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are cross-sectional views of a spacer member shown inFIG. 4 taken through lines 9--9 and 10--10, respectively.

FIG. 11 and is a partial perspective view of an alternate embodiment ofthe present invention wherein two telephone jack receiving channels aredisposed along opposing sides of a base adapted to support a punch downterminal board between such channels.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the multiple telephone jack slideassembly shown in FIG. 11 taken through lines 12--12 and furtherillustrating the punch down terminal board positioned upon the base.

FIG. 13 is a partial perspective view of an alternate embodiment of themultiple telephone jack slide assembly shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the assembly shown in FIG. 13 astaken through lines 14--14.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a multipletelephone jack slide assembly wherein the edge portions forming thechannel in which the telephone jacks slide include a downwardly turnedflange and wherein the slide assembly includes an AMP-type plug-inconnector.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the slide assembly shown in FIG. 15taken through lines 16--16.

FIG. 17 is a top view of the slide assembly shown in FIG. 15 andillustrating the manner in which a retainer plate is used to secure aplurality of telephone jacks therein.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of an alternate form of telephone jackthat may be used in conjunction with the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional partial view of the slide assembly shown inFIG. 1 modified to support telephone jacks of the type shown in FIG. 18.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIG. 1, a multiple telephone jack slide assemblY isdesignated generally by reference numeral 20 and includes a sliding jacksupport member 22. Formed within support member 22 are first and secondlongitudinal channels 24 and 26 adapted to slidingly receive a firstplurality of telephone jacks including those designated by referencenumerals 28, 30 and 32, and a second plurality of telephone jacksincluding those designated by reference numerals 34, 36 and 38,respectively. Also shown in FIG. 1 is a retaining member 40 whichextends across and generally perpendicular to channels 24 and 26. Screws42, 44 and 46 extend through slotted apertures 43, 45 and 47,respectively formed within retaining member 40 for securing retainingmember 40 in a selected position along support member 22. As shown inFIG. 1, support member 40 generally abuts the lower edges of telephonejacks 32 and 38 for inhibiting further sliding movement of the insertedtelephone jacks within channels 24 and 26. An alternate form ofretaining member is shown within FIG. 1 and is designated by referencenumeral 40'. Features of retaining member 40' which correspond to thosedescribed with regard to retaining member 40 have been identified withcorrespondingly primed reference numerals.

For purposes of clarifying the construction and assembly of the multipletelephone jack slide assembly shown in FIG. 1, an exploded view thereofis shown in FIG. 4. As shown, support member 22 includes a raisedgenerally planar elongated surface 50 in which a first slotted opening52 is formed having an open end 52'. A second slotted opening 54 havingan open end 54' is also formed within generally planar elongated surface50 parallel and adjacent to slotted opening 52 A. resulting fingerportion 56 of generally planar elongated surface 50 serves to divideslotted openings 52 and 54 from one another. Slotted openings 52 and 54provide the first and second elongated channels 24 and 26, respectively,described with respect to FIG. 1 above. The width of slotted openings 52and 54 are equal to one another, as they serve substantially the samepurpose. Slotted opening 52 is bounded by finger portion 56 and a firstside portion 58 of elongated surface 50, while slotted opening 54 isbounded by finger portion 56 and a second opposing side portion 60 ofelongated surface 50.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, slotted opening 52 is defined by opposingedge portions 62 and 64 of jack support 22. Similarly, slotted opening54 is bordered by opposing edge portions 66 and 68 of support member 22.As shown in FIG. 4, telephone jack 30 is adapted to be slid betweenopposing edge portions 62 and 64 of jack support 22 for being supportedby longitudinal channel 24 corresponding to slotted opening 52. As shownin FIGS. 4 and 5, telephone jack 30 includes an upper surface 70 and apair of opposing side walls 72 and 74 which extend downwardly therefrom,substantially perpendicular thereto. Opposing side walls 72 and 74 areseparated from one another by a distance approximating the width ofslotted opening 52. In the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, side walls 72 and 74 of telephone jack 30 are separated by adistance slightly in excess of the width of slotted opening 52. A groove76 is provided within the side wall 72 of telephone jack 30 just belowupper surface 70. A similar groove 78 is provided within side wall 74 oftelephone jack 30. The thickness of elongated surface 50 of supportmember 22 is selected to be commensurate with the width of grooves 76and 78 formed within telephone jack 30. Accordingly, grooves 76 and 78slidingly engage opposing edge portions 62 and 64 of longitudinalchannel 24 for permitting telephone jack 30 to be slid into the channelfrom open end 52' . As shown in FIG. 1, a multitude of such telephonejacks can be slid into longitudinal channel 24 prior to locking suchtelephone jacks in place against further sliding movement by retainingmember 40.

Referring to FIG. 4, a series of regularly spaced threaded holes, suchas those designated by reference numerals 80, 81 and 82 are formed alongelongated surface 50 on finger portion 56 and opposing side portion 58and 60. Threaded holes 80, 81 and 82 are engaged by screws 42, 44 and46, respectively, in order to secure retaining member 40 acrosslongitudinal channesl 24 and 26. Slotted apertures 43, 45 47 permitretaining member 40 to be laterally shifted prior to tightening screws42-46 in order to permit retaining member 40 to abut the endmosttelephone jacks and thereby inhibit further sliding movement of thetelephone jacks supported by support member 22. Moreover, retainingmember 40 further serves to stiffen finger portion 56 against deflectionout of the plane in which elongated surface 50 lies.

In order to further stiffen finger portion 56 against deflection,stiffening members, such as that designated by reference numeral 84within FIG. 4, can be periodically slid onto jack support 22 betweengroupings of telephone jacks. Stiffening member 84 has a length slightlyin excess of the distance between edge portion 62 and edge portion 68 ofelongated surface 50. Grooves 86 and 88 are formed within opposing sidewalls of stiffening member 84 for slidingly engaging edge portions 62and 68. In addition, a further groove in the form of a rectangularlyshaped aperture 90 is formed within the central portion of stiffeningmember 84 for permitting finger portion 56 to be advanced therethrough.Referring briefly to FIG. 1, such stiffening members are designated byreference numerals 84, 92 and 94.

As mentioned above, retaining member 40' shown in FIGS. 1 and 4designates an alternate form of retaining member which is particularlyuseful when longitudinal channel 24 has one less telephone jack withinit than longitudinal channel 26. Retaining member 40' includes a firstabutment 96 and a second abutment 98 offset therefrom by a distancecorresponding to the length of one telephone jack. In this manner,abutment edges 96 and 98 may simultaneously abut the endmost telephonejacks within longitudinal channels 24 and 26 and inhibit slidingmovement of the telephone jacks installed within each of such channels.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 5, jack support member 22 includes a pairof lower supporting flanges 100 and 102 which extend generally parallelto and commensurate with elongated surface 50. A pair of sloped slidemembers 104 and 106 extend upwardly from lower support flanges 100 and102 respectively, and are coupled to side portions 58 and 60,respectively, for raising elongated surface 50 above the plane in whichlower support flanges 100 and 102 lie. Elongated surface 50 is spacedapart from lower support flanges 100 and 102 by at least the depth ofthe telephone jacks in order to avoid interference with the slidingmovement of the telephone jacks within their supporting channels.

Lower flanges 100 and 102 of support member 22 may be fastened to atelephone interchange wiring panel by different methods. In oneembodiment of the present invention, rectangular cutouts or notches 108and 110 are formed adjacent the opposing ends of lower support flange100. Corresponding rectangular cutouts are formed on lower supportflange 102, including rectangular cutout 112 shown in FIG. 8. Suchrectangular cutouts are preferably formed by doubling over the materialremoved from the cutout portion to form bent ears, such as those shownin FIG. 8 as designated by reference numerals 114 and 116. Referring toFIG. 1, a plastic mounting bracket 118 is shown of the type commonlyused to secure punch down terminal boards to back panel 120. An exampleof such a plastic mounting bracket is that commercially available fromAmerican Telephone & Telegraph Company (formerly Western Electric) underthe model designation 89B. Mounting bracket 118 includes lower supportflanges, such as that identified by reference numeral 122 adapted to befastened against wiring panel 120, as by a screw 124. Plastic mountingbracket 118 includes raised support surfaces 126 and 128, and furtherincludes a set of four spring-biased latch fingers 130, 131, 132 and133. The uppermost, inwardly projecting ends of latch fingers 130-133extend just above support surfaces 126 and 128 and are designed to graspthe base portion of a punch down terminal board for retaining the sameagainst support surfaces 126 and 128. Accordingly, the spacing betweenrectangular cutouts 108 and 110 formed in lower support flange 100 ofsupport member 22 is made to correspond to the distance between latchfingers 130 and 131. Similarly, the distance between ears 114 and 116(see FIG. 8) is made to correspond to the distance between latch fingers131 and 133, thereby allowing latch fingers 131 and 133 to releasablygrasp ears 114 and 116, maintaining the doubled over lower portionsthereof against support surface 128. By doubling over ears 114 and 116,a generally rounded surface is provided for more easily spreading latchfingers 131 and 133 when support member 22 is fastened to mountingbracket 118.

Referring briefly to FIGS. 13 and 14, an alternate embodiment of thepresent invention is illustrated wherein the lower support flanges 100'and 102' are adapted to be directly fastened to wiring panel 120. WithinFIGS. 13 and 14, those features of the jack support member whichgenerally correspond to those previously described with reference toFIGS. 1, 4 and 5 have been designated by correspondingly primedreference numerals. As shown in FIG. 13, slotted apertures 136 and 138are formed at opposing ends of lcwer support flange 100'; similarslotted apertures, including aperture 140 are formed at opposing ends oflower support flange 102'. The distance measured diagonally from slottedaperture 138 to slotted aperture 140 is made to correspond to thedistance between corresponding apertures formed within the supportflanges 122 of plastic mounting bracket 118 (see FIG. 1). In thismanner, screws, such as those designated in FIG. 14 by referencenumerals 142 and 143 may be used to directly fasten the lower supportflanges 100' and 102' of support member 22' to wiring panel 120. Sidewalls 104' and 106' for the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 aresubstantially taller than corresponding side walls 104 and 106 for theembodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 in order to space telephone jacks 30and 36 a sufficient distance above wiring panel 120 to permit therouting of telephone wires between wiring panel 120 and telephone jacks30 and 36.

FIGS. 2 and 3 best illustrate the manner in which multiple telephonejack slide assemblies of the type described with respect to FIGS. 1-8and 13-14 are used in conjunction with a conventional telephoneinterchange wiring panel. Within FIG. 2, the bundled cable 146represents a bundle of telephone wires originating from an undergroundtrunk line operated by the telephone company. Four punch down terminalboards 148, 149, 150 and 151 are shown as mounted to wiring panel 148,each receiving a portion of the telephone wires which collectively makebundle 146. A multiple telephone jack slide assembly of the typeprovided by the present invention is associated with each of the punchdown terminal boards. Thus, multiple telephone jack slide assemblies152, 153, 154 and 155 are also mounted to wiring panel 120 adjacent oneof the aforementioned punch down terminal boards. As shown in FIG. 2,bundles of outgoing wires leave the upper end of each of the punch downterminal boards and collectively form bundle 156 for routing toindividual telephones at the business, office, apartment complex, etc.being served.

As shown in the enlarged drawing of FIG. 3, the upper surface oftelephone jack 30 opens into a cavity 158 adapted to releasably receivea mating telephone cord plug 160. Typically, the number of such matingtelephone cord plugs provided is equal to the number of telephone jackssupported upon assembly 155. Each telephone jack, including telephonejack 30, is coupled by color-coded wires to various rows of terminalsprovided by punch down terminal board 151. Similarly, each of the matingtelephone plugs, including plug 160, is coupled by color-coded wires toassociated rows of terminals provided by punch down terminal board 151.It should be clear to those skilled in the art that a particulartelephone line can be connected or disconnected simply by inserting orremoving plug 160 from jack 30. It will be further appreciated that, bymoving plug 160 from socket 30 to a different socket, telephone servicefor a particular user can be moved to a different office or apartment.Referring briefly to FIGS. 4 and 5, it will be noted that enlargedholes, such as those designated by reference numerals 162 and 164 may beformed in side walls 104 and 106 to facilitate the passage therethroughof the wires secured to each of the telephone plugs.

In some instances, it may be preferred to increase the amount of spacingbetween successive telephone jacks, for example, to match the spacing ofassociated terminals on the adjacent punch down terminal board. In suchinstances, a spacing member may be inserted within the channels of thejack support member between successive telephone jacks in order toincrease the spacing therebetween. Referring to FIGS. 4, 9 and 10,spacing member 164 is U-shaped and includes an upper wall 166 andopposing front and back walls 168 and 170. As shown in FIG. 9, grooves172 and 174 are formed within back wall 170 immediately below upper wall166, grooves 172 and 174 permitting back wall 170 to slide between theopposing edge portion 62 and 64 of channel 24. Similar grooves areformed within front wall 168 in order to permit spacing member 164 to beslidingly received within channel 24.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention wherein the multiple telephone jack slide assembly isconfigured to provide a jack supporting channel along both sides of acentrally mounted punch down terminal board. Within FIG. 11, themultiple telephone jack slide assembly is desginated generally byreference numeral 180 and includes a generally planar rectangular base182 having a first side edge 184 and an opposing second side edge 186. Afirst side wall 188 extends upwardly from side edge 184 of base 182,substantially perpendicular to base 182. A first generally planarelongated surface 190 includes a first side portion 192 coupled to andsupported by side wall 188 for supporting elongated surface 190 at aposition spaced apart from and generally parallel to base 182. Surface190 includes a second side 194 opposite first side 192 and generallyseparated therefrom by an open ended slotted opening 196 forming alongitudinal channel for receiving and supporting a plurality oftelephone jacks, such as telephone jack 198. An interconnecting wall 200extends from the upper end of side portion 194 of elongated surface 190back toward base 182 and terminates in a flange 202 extending parallelto and overlying base 182. Flange 202 is welded or otherwise fastened tobase 182 to aid in supporting elongated surface 190.

Similarly, a second generally planar elongated surface 204 is supportedabove and along the opposite side of base 182 by a second side wall 206extending substantially perpendicular from side edge 186 of base 182.Generally planar elongated surface 204 includes a first side 208adjacent side wall 206 and a second side 210 opposite thereto andgenerally divided therefrom by a second slotted opening 212. Slottedopening 212 forms a similar longitudinal channel within elongatedsurface 204 for receiving and supporting a second plurality of telephonejacks, such as telephone jack 214. A short interconnecting wall 216extends from the upper end of second side 210 back toward base 182 andterminates in a supporting flange 218 fastened to base 182.

As in the previously described embodiments, slotted openings 196 and 212each provide first and second opposing edge portions for being slidinglyreceived within the grooves of the associated telephone jacks supportedthereby. Within FIG. 11, slotted opening 196 is bounded by opposing edgeportions 220 and 222 which are engaged, respectively, by grooves 224 and226 of telephone jack 198.

In order to facilitate wiring interconnections to the first and secondpluralities of telephone jacks supported within slotted openings 196 and212, interconnecting walls 200 and 216 do not extend the entire lengthof base 182. Accordingly, additional means for supporting second side194 of elongated surface 190, and for supporting second side 210 ofelongated surface 204, is required in order to minimize the deflectionof side portions 194 and 210 out of the plane normally containingelongated surfaces 190 and 204. For this purpose, one or more supportinglegs, such as those designated by reference numerals 228 and 230, areprovided for maintaining side portions 194 and 210 spaced apart frombase 182 by the same amount as side portions 192 and 208.

As shown in FIG. 11, leg 230 includes a lowermost apertured tab 232. Aseries of threaded holes such as that designated by reference numeral234 are provided along the length of base 182, and screw 236 extendsthrough apertured tab 232 and engages hole 234 in order to secure leg230 to base 182. Leg 230 includes an upper support tab 238 having atleast one aperture 240 formed therein and overlying a correspondingthreaded hole 242 formed within second side 210 of elongated surface204. Screw 244 extends through hole 240 and threadedly engages hole 242in order to support side portion 210.

Still referring to FIG. 11, upper support tab 238 of leg 230 canadvantageously extend completely across slotted opening 212 and therebyserve the additional function of abutting at least one telephone jacksupported within slotted opening 212 to inhibit sliding movement of thetelephone jacks supported therein. In this manner, leg 230 may serve asa retaining member analogous to retaining member 40 described withreference to FIG. 1. A second hole 246 is formed within upper supporttab 238 overlying a corresponding threaded hole 248 formed within firstside portion 208 of elongated surface 204. Screw 250 is advanced throughhole 246 and threadedly engaged with hole 248 to maintain upper supporttab 238 perpendicular to slotted opening 212 and in abuttingrelationship with a telephone jack. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that legs 228 and 230 are applied only after insertion of thetelephone jacks which are to be supported within slotted openings 196and 212 between legs 228 and 230 and the upper end of elongated surfaces190 and 204 in order to avoid interference with the insertion thereof.

As mentioned above, telephone jack support member 180 shown in FIGS. 11and 12 is adapted to support a punch down terminal board upon thecentral portion thereof intermediate elongated surfaces 190 and 204, andhence, between the pluralities of telephone jacks supported therein.Within FIG. 11, dashed rectangle 252 designates the portion of base 182covered by such a punch down terminal board. As shown in FIG. 12,terminal board 254 is provided with six wire gripping terminals 256-261in each row. Terminals 256-258 are shorted to one another and areinsulated from terminals 259-261, the latter of which are also shortedtogether. Terminals 256-258 may be used for wiring interconnections totelephone jacks and associated telephone plugs supported within thechannel of elongated surface 190, while terminals 259-261 may be usedfor wiring interconnections to telephone jacks supported within theslotted opening 212 forming the channel within elongated surface 204.

As shown in FIG. 12, terminal board 254 rests upon base 182 of the jacksupport member. Terminal board 254 may be of the type commerciallyavailable from AT & T under model number 66B3-50, which terminal boardhas holes formed in the four corners thereof for permitting the terminalboard to be screwed or otherwise fastened directly to a telephoneinterchange wiring panel. One of such holes is shown in dashed outlinewithin FIG. 12 by reference number 262. Corresponding holes, such asthose designated 264 and 266 within FIG. 11, are formed within base 182.Accordingly, a single screw or other fastener (not shown) may besimultaneously extended through hole 262 in terminal board 254, andthrough hole 264 in base 182, and threaded into the wiring paneltherebehind in order to simultaneously secure terminal board 254 to base182 and to secure base 182 to the wiring panel.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that each of the telephone jacksupport members described above may be made from relatively thin sheetsof steel or aluminum using conventional metal working stamping andbending procedures. Telephone jacks of the type referenced above arecommercially available from American Telephone and Telegraph Company(formerly Western Electric) under various model designations, includingModel WE 652A and No. WE 652D. Model No. WE 652A is supplied with sidegrooves approximately 0.1 inch wide, and accordingly, the metal stock inwhich the jack supporting channels are formed is selected to beapproximately 0.1 inch thick. Model No. WE 652D is provided by themanufacturer with side grooves approximately 0.05 inch wide, andaccordingly, the thickness of the metal stock from which jack supportingchannels are formed to support this type of telephone jack is selectedto be approximately, 0.05 inch thick.

FIGS. 15, 16 and 17 illustrate an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention, the multiple telephone jack slide assembly shown thereinbeing designated generally by reference numeral 300. Slide assembly 300includes a sliding jack support member 302 which includes a generallyplanar elongated surface

At least one longitudinal channel 306 is formed in jack support member302, channel 306 forming a slotted opening in generally planar surface304. Channel 306 is bounded by first and second generally opposing edgeportions of support member 302. As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, first andsecond opposing edge portions 308 and 310 are formed by a pair ofdownturned flanges 312 and 314, respectively, which extend generallyperpendicular from planar surface 304 from opposing sides of channel306.

As shown in FIGS. 15-17, telephone jack slide assembly 300 is adapted tosupport a plurality of telephone jacks to be electrically interconnectedwith a wiring system. Referring to FIG. 16 in particular, one commontype of telephone jack, commercially available from AT&T/WesternElectric under model No. 641F WE, includes a pair of side walls 318 and320 which extend downwardly from and substantially perpendicular to theupper surface 322. Sidewall 318 includes an upper ridge or projection324 which extends therefrom continguous with upper surface 322. A secondridge or projection 326 extends from the central portion of side wall318 substantially parallel to projection 324. Similarly, upperprojection 328 and lower projection 330 extend from side wall 320. Upperprojection 324 and lower projection 326 are spaced apart from oneanother by a predetermined gap.

Jack support member 302 is adapted to slidingly support a plurality oftelephone jacks 316. Opposing edge portions 308 and 310, corresonding tothe inwardly directed faces of flanges 312 and 314, are separated by apredetermined distance generally corresponding to the width oflongitudinal channel 306. This predetermined distance is designed to becommensurate with the width of telephone jack 316, i.e., the distancebetween side walls 318 and 320. Moreover, the width of flanges 312 and314 is designed to be commensurate with the predetermined gap separatingupper projection 324 and lower projection 326 for allowing telephonejack 316 to slide along channel 306 while being supported by opposingflanges 312 and 314. Thus, upper projections 324 and 328, and lowerprojections 312 and 330, constitute engagement means for slidinglyengaging opposing edge portions 308 and 310 defining channel 306.

As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, flanges 312 and 314 may be continuous withplanar surface 304 and simply constitute right angle bends of thematerial making up planar surface 304 to form the aforementionedflanges. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, while suchflanges are shown and described as being downturned flanges, upturnedflanges would serve equally as well. Furthermore, while flanges 312 and314 are themselves shown as being primarily planar, flanges 312 and 314may be curved or have other shapes, provided that such flanges have anoverall face width commensurate with the predetermined gap separatingupper projection 324 and lower projection 326.

Referring to FIGS. 15 and 17, an oversized opening 332 is formed withinplanar surface 304 communicating with channel 306, preferably at one endthereof. The purpose of opening 332 is to permit each of the pluralityof telephone jacks 316 to be slidingly inserted into channel 306 so thatthe telephone jacks can be supported therein. Accordingly, thedimensions of opening 332 are slightly larger than the dimensions ofupper surface 322 of telephone jack 316 to allow telephone jack 316 tobe lowered into opening 332. Flanges 312 and 314 of support member 302terminate prior to reaching opening 332 to avoid interferring with theinsertion of telephone jack 316 therein.

As has already been noted, multiple telephone jack slide assemblies ofthe type described herein can be directly mounted to telephoneinterchange wiring panels. Alternatively, multiple telephone jack slideassemblies of the type described herein may also be mounted to otherelectrical wiring systems. For example, support member 302 shown inFIGS. 15 and 17 includes a first pair of mounting holes 334 and a secondpair of mounting holes 336 located at the opposing ends thereof. Thesemounting holes are adapted to receive screws or other fasteners formounting slide assembly 300 to an electronic equipment frame, such as atelephone wire interchange rack.

Once the plurality of telephone jacks 316 have been slid into channel306 through opening 332, a retainer may be provided for inhibitingfurther sliding movement of the telephone jacks within channel 306.Referring to FIGS. 15 and 17, a retainer plate 338 is shown having awidth somewhat larger than the width of channel 306. Retainer plate 338may be generally rectangular and is provided with fastener-receivingholes 340 and 342 at its opposing ends. A series of threaded holes 344,346, 348, and 350 are provided at spaced intervals along support member302 on opposing sides of slot 306. A pair of screws 352 are provided forpassing through holes 340 and threadedly engaging holes 348. Similarly,screws 354 pass through holes 342 and threadedly engage holes 350, inorder to releasably fasten retaining plate 338 to support member 302. Asshown in FIG. 17, edge 356 abuts the telephone jack 316 located closestto opening 332 for clamping the plurality of telephone jacks 316 betweenedge 356 of retainer plate 338 and upper edge 358 of slot 306.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that retainer plates of variouslengths may be provided for releasably securing different numbers oftelephone jacks 316 within slot 306. For example, the length of theretainer plate 338 shown in FIG. 15 may be doubled, in which casefastening screws 352 may be engaged with threaded holes 346 in supportmember 302.

Support member 302 shown in FIGS. 15-17 advantageously includessidewalls 360 and 362 which extend generally perpendicular to planarsurface 304 from opposing sides thereof. As shown in FIG. 15, sidewalls360 and 362 terminate short of the ends of planar surface 304 to avoidinterferring with the mounting of slide assembly 300 to an electronicequipment frame. Sidewalls 360 and 362 may be continuous with planarsurface 304; for example, if support member 302 is formed of sheetmetal, side walls 360 and 362 may simply constitute right angle bends ofsuch sheet material relative to planar surface 304.

As further shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, slide assembly 300 preferablyincludes a rear enclosure member 364 including a back panel 366 and apair of opposing end panels 368 and 370 extending generallyperpendicular from rear panel 366. Rear panel 366 has a length slightlygreater than the length of side walls 360 and 362; end panels 368 and370 each have a length commensurate with the width of side walls 360 and362. In this manner, enclosure member 364 serves to mate with supportmember 302 and enclose the interior portion thereof. As shown in FIG.16, rear panel 366 may be secured by screws 372 and 374 through threadedholes formed in right-angle extensions 376 and 378, respectively, ofside walls 360 and 362 for releasably fastening enclosure member 364 tosupport member 302.

As shown in FIG. 16, telephone jacks 316 include a plurality ofconnecting wires, designated generally by reference numeral 380extending therefrom. In one preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, slot 306 is made of such a length as to accept up to 23 ofsuch telephone jacks for electrical interconnection with a fifty pin AMPconnector 382 in order to provide a convenient means for makingelectrical interconnection between slide assembly 300 and the electronicequipment frame to which it is attached. If all 23 telephone jacks areinserted into channel 306, then retainer plate 338 may be omitted. Inthis event, end panel 370 of enclosure member 364 serves as a retainer.End panel 370 extends generally perpendicular to planar surface 304 andis disposed proximate to opening 332 at the point where it joins panel306. Accordingly, end panel 370 abuts the last of the 23 telephone jacksand prevents the same from sliding; from channel 306 into opening 332.Consequently, enclosure member 364 is secured to support member 302after the telephone jacks are slid into channel 306.

FIG. 18 illustrates yet another form of telephone jack which may be usedin conjunction with the slide assembly of the present invention.Telephone jack 384 includes an upper surface 386 opening into a cavity388. A first sidewall 390 extends downwardly from upper surface 386substantially perpendicular thereto. A second sidewall 392 (see FIG. 19)extends downwardly from the opposite side of upper surface 386substantially perpendicular thereto.

Sidewall 390 of telephone jack 384 has an upper projection 394 extendingtherefrom substantially parallel to upper surface 386. A pair of lowerprojections 396 and 398 also extend from sidewall 390 below projection394 and on opposing sides thereof. As shown in FIG. 19, projections 396and 398 are spaced below projection 394 by a predetermined distance orgap. This gap defines a first engagement path which may be used toslidingly support sidewall 390 of telephone jack 384.

With respect to side wall 392, a pair of upper projections 400 and 402extend from side wall 392, the uppermost portions of projections 400 and402 being continuous with upper surface 386. A lower projection 404 alsoextends from sidewall 392 below and centered between projections 400 and402 and parallel to upper surface 386. As shown in FIG. 19, lowerprojection 404 is spaced apart from upper projections 400 and 402 by thesame predetermined distance or gap described above in relation tosidewall 390. This gap between upper projections 400 and 402 and lowerprojection 404 defines a second engagement path which may be used toslidingly support side wall 392.

Referring again to FIG. 19, it will be noted that the first engagementpath formed on sidewall 390 and the second engagement path formed uponsidewall 392 are at different distances from upper surface 386, andhence, that a predetermined offset exists between the first engagementpath and the second engagement path relative to upper surface 386.Telephone jacks of the type shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 are commerciallyavailable from AT&T/Western Electric under Model No. 647B WE.

Referring briefly to FIGS. 4 and 5, it will be appreciated thattelephone jacks of the type shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 are not easilysupported within a support member of the type shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 dueto the lateral offset between the first engagement path of side wall 390and the second engagement path of side-wall 392. Accordingly, in orderto better support telephone jacks of the type shown in FIGS. 18 and 19,the opposing edge portions 406 and 408 of the support members shown inFIG. 19 are laterally offset from one another by the same offset thatexists between the aforementioned first and second engagement paths. Inthis manner, edge portion 406 of the support member is slidingly engagedby upper projection 394 and lower projections 396 and 398 for slidingwithin the first engagement path, while edge portion 408 of the supportmember is engaged by upper projections 400 and 402 and lower projection404 for sliding within the second engagement path. Clearly, edgeportions 406 and 408 of the support member shown in FIG. 19 lie indifferent planes, and accordingly, the portion of the support memberused to form the channel in which the telephone jacks are slidinglysupported is not a substantially planar member. The offset between edgeportions 406 and 408 of the support member can be produced byappropriately bending the support member along the longitudinal axis ofthe channel formed therein in a manner known to those skilled in theart.

Referring again briefly to FIGS. 1 and 8, it has previously beenmentioned that the lower support flange 100 of support member 22 mayinclude doubled-over ears, like those designated by reference numerals114 and 116, for being engaged by latch fingers 130-133 of a plasticmounting bracket. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that supportmember 22 can be mounted to a wide variety of electrical wiring systems.For example, connecting blocks are commonly used to make wiringinterconnections for telephone systems. One example of such a connectingblock is model No. 110DW1-100 commercially available from AT&T/WesternElectric. Such connecting blocks are often provided with pegs or shortsupport arms extending above the main body of the connecting block inorder to releasably engage covers designed to extend over the connectingblocks. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the aforementioneddoubled-over ears of the multiple telephone jack support member canengage the short support arm of such connecting blocks, in lieu of thecovers normally used with such connecting blocks, in order to releasablysecure the support member to the top of the connecting block.

It will now be appreciated that a multiple telephone jack slide assemblyhas been described which conveniently supports a plurality of telephonejacks upon an electrical wiring system. While the invention has beendescribed with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, thedescription is for illustrative purposes only and is not to be construedas limiting the scope of the invention. Various other modifications andchanges may be made by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

I claim:
 1. A multiple telephone jack slide assembly for supporting aplurality of telephone jacks to be electrically interconnected with awiring system, said assembly including:(a) a sliding jack support memberhaving at least one longitudinal channel formed therein, said channelbeing defined by first and second generally opposing edge portions ofsaid support member, said first and second generally opposing edgeportions being separated by a predetermined distance generallycorresponding to the width of said channel, said channel having anopening communicating therewith for permitting a telephone jack to beinserted into said channel; (b) a plurality of telephone jacks eachhaving an upper surface opening into a cavity for releasably receiving amating telephone cord plug, each of said telephone jacks furtherincluding a pair of opposing side walls extending downwardly from saidupper surface and substantially perpendicular thereto, said opposingside walls being separated by a distance approximating the width of saidchannel, said opposing side walls including engaging means for slidinglyengaging said first and second generally opposing edge portions of saidchannel for permitting each of said plurality of telephone jacks to beslid into said channel from the opening thereof in order to support saidplurality of telephone jacks within said channel; and (c) retainingmeans releasably fastened to said support member and abutting at leastone of said plurality of telephone jacks for inhibiting further slidingmovement of said plurality of telephone jacks after the same are slidinto said channel.
 2. The assembly recited by claim 1 wherein saidsupport member includes a generally planar elongated surface, saidhanhel forming a slotted opening in said generally planar surface, saidfirst and second generally opposing edge portions comprising theportions of said generally planar elongated surface disposed adjacentthe slotted opening therein, said generally Planar elongated surfacehaving a predetermined thickness, and wherein said engaging meanscomprises first and second grooves formed within the opposing sidewalls, respectively, of each of said telephone jacks, the width of saidfirst and second grooves being commensurate with the thickness of saidgenerally planar elongated surface, the distance separating saidopposing side walls being slightly in excess of the width of saidchannel, said first and second grooves being adapted to slidinglyreceive said first and second generally opposing edge portions of saidchannel, respectively, for supporting each of said telephone jacks insliding engagement with said support member.
 3. The assembly recited byclaim 1 wherein said support member has at least first and secondapertures formed therein adjacent said first and second opposing edgeportions, and wherein said retaining means comprises a retaining memberhaving corresponding apertures formed therein and fastening meansextending through the corresponding apertures of said retaining memberand said support member for fastening said retaining member to saidsupport member across said channel in abutting relationship with atleast one of said plurality of telephone jacks.
 4. The assembly recitedby claim 1 wherein:(a) said engaging means included within said opposingside walls of each of said plurality of telphone jacks comprises a firstengagement means disposed upon a first of said opposing side walls and asecond engagement means disposed upon a second of said opposing sidewalls, said first engagement means defining a first engagement pathlying a first distance from the upper surface of each said telephonejack, said second engagement means defining a second engagement pathlying a second distance from the upper surface of each said telephonejack, and wherein the second distance differs from the first distance bya predetermined offset; and (b) said first and second generally opposingedge portions of said support member being laterally offset from oneanother by said predetermined offset for permitting said first edgeportion to slide within the first engagement path and for permittingsaid second edge portion to slide within the second engagement path. 5.The assembly recited by claim 1 wherein:(a) said engaging means includedwithin said opposing side walls of each of said plurality of telephonejacks comprises first and second projections extending from each of saidopposing side walls, said first and second projections being spacedapart from one another by a predetermined gap; and (b) said first andsecond generally opposing edge portions each having a face widthcommensurate with said predetermined gap for slidingly engaging saidfirst and second projections.
 6. The assembly recited by claim 5 whereinsaid support member includes a generally planar elongated surface, saidchannel forming a slotted opening in said generally planar surface, saidsupport member including a pair of flanges extending generallyperpendicular to said generally planar elongated surface and extendingfrom opposing sides of said slotted opening, said flanges each having awidth commensurate with said predetergap, said pair of flangescomprising said first and second generally opposing edge portions ofsaid support member.
 7. The assembly recited by claim 1 wherein saidsupport member includes means for fastening said support member to anelectronic equipment frame.
 8. The assembly recited by claim 1 whereinsaid support member includes a generally planar elongated surface, saidchannel forming a slotted opening in said generally planar surface, saidplurality of telephone jacks each having connecting wires extendingtherefrom, said assembly further including an enclosure memberreleasably fastened to said support member to enclose and protect saidconnecting wires.
 9. The assembly recited by claim 8 wherein saidenclosure member includes at least one panel disposed generallyperpendicular to said generally planar elongated surface and disposedproxiate to said opening of said channel for preventing telephone jackswithin said channel from sliding into said opening.
 10. A multipletelephone jack slide assembly for supporting a plurality of telephonejacks to be electrically interconnected with a wiring system, each ofthe plurality of telephone jacks having an upper surface opening into acavity for releasably receiving a mating telephone cord plug, each ofthe telephone jacks further including a pair of opposing side wallsextending downwardly from the upper surface thereof and substantiallyperpencidular thereto, the opposing side walls being separated by adistance corresponding to the width of the telephone jack, the opposingside walls including engagements adapted to aid in supporting eachtelephone jack, said slide assembly comprising in combination:(a) asliding jack support member having at least one longtitudinal channelformed therein, said channel being defined by first and second generallyopposing edge portions of said support member, said first and secondgenerally opposing edge portions being separated by a predetermineddistance generally corresponding to the width of said channel andcommensurate with the width of said telephone jacks, said channel havingan opening communicating therewith for permitting a telephone jack to beinserted into said channel, said first and second generally opposingedge portions being adapted to slidingly engage the engagements includedwithin the opposing side walls of each telephone jack for permittingeach of the plurality of telephone jacks to be slid into said channelfrom said opening thereof; (b) fastening means for fastening saidsupport member to said wiring system; and (c) retaining means releasablyfastened to said support member and adapted to abut at least one of theplurality of telephone jacks for inhibiting further sliding movement ofthe plurality of telephone jacks after the same are slid into saidchannel.